ACR Climate Brief | October 2026
SPOTLIGHT
Discussions about Durability Should Avoid Creating Excuses for Delay
Durability and the idea of a permanence trust were on the agenda at this year’s Climate Week New York City. Ahead of the gatherings, ACR’s Forestry Director, Kurt Krapfl emphasized in Carbon Pulse that exploring new ideas must not undermine the ones that are already working.
ACR supports the concept of a permanence trust and wants to contribute to its design and implementation. But we caution buyers and investors against premising deals on untested approaches. Well-designed buffer pools are capitalized to handle different risk levels. The ACR buffer pool is well capitalized, representing approximately 20% of reversible credits and operational now.
Many important questions remain about a permanence trust, which Kurt outlines in his commentary. We encourage carbon market stakeholders to review the column and engage constructively in conversations about a permanence trust. However, we must also continue acting with urgency, leveraging solutions that exist today while testing new solutions for the future.
Read the commentary in Carbon Pulse here.
SPOTLIGHT
ACR Issues First Credits Under Methodology for Small Non-Industrial Private Forestlands
ACR recently issued the first credits under its Improved Forest Management on Small Non-Industrial Private Forestlands methodology, which expands carbon finance opportunities for owners of small family woodlands. The credits went to LandYield’s first project, covering landowners across 13 southeastern states. Small ownerships hold nearly 40% of U.S. forestland but fewer than 1% have entered the carbon market, deterred by the scale and complexity of existing requirements. Developed with Finite Carbon, the methodology aggregates ownerships of 40–5,000 forested acres, with sequestration driven by deferred harvest, longer rotations and increased stocking.
Read more.
SPOTLIGHT
New ACR Infographic Highlights Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere, or is already present in the atmosphere, and injecting it underground for permanent storage in geologic reservoirs. Most of the IPCC’s modelled pathways that limit warming to 1.5 degrees C include the use of CCS.
To help stakeholders understand and communicate about CCS, ACR recently created an infographic highlighting its role as an important climate action.
Read more and download the infographic here.
ACR UPDATES
Op-ed: Carbon Markets Keep Our Forests Healthy
Writing in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, ACR Executive Director Mary Grady argues that carbon markets help Arkansas families hold onto their forests. More than 200,000 households in the state own forestland and families hold 55% of its forests; at the same time, Arkansas lost over 80,000 acres of forestland last year.
ACR Improved Forest Management Methodology Version 1.3 Earns Core Carbon Principle (CCP) Approval from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM)
Eligible credits under the label include emission reduction credits verified using ACR’s Tool for Dynamic Evaluation of Baselines and removals credits, and the label has been applied to more than nine million eligible credits on the ACR Registry.
Remote Sensing: Quality Unlocks Scale
Written by Warren Reed, Senior Technical Manager, Forestry, the article introduces the Framework for Remotely Sensed Quantification of Forest Carbon, published by ACR in spring 2026. The Framework addresses a longstanding market need for a transparent, scientifically grounded benchmark against which remotely sensed forest carbon estimates can be judged.
MARKET NEWS
The Hood River Tree Farm Project Issues CCP-Labeled Credits – July 27, 2026, in Carbon Herald
EFM’s $100M Oregon Forest Bet Puts Carbon at the Heart of Timber Investment – August 14, 2026, in Carbon Credits
EFM Olympic Rainforest IFM – Project Spotlight – August 2026, in Microsoft.com
Sustainable funds struggle to give investors a direct way to back custodians of nature – August 21, 2026, in Reuters
Microsoft’s Global CDR Strategy Targets Scale and Integrity – August 21, 2026, in Sustainability Magazine
LandYield Issues First Carbon Credits Through ACR – September 2, 2026, in EIN Presswire
North Carolina Bog Restoration Aims to Trap 130,000 Tons of Carbon a Year – September 9, 2026, in Hoodline
NativState Accelerates Growth and Expands Southeast Footprint with Issuance of Credits from Three New Carbon Projects – September 15, 2026, in Business Wire
Busting the myth that newer carbon credits are superior – September 15, 2026, in Trellis
The Business Of Sustainability – October 2, 2026, in WilmingtonBiz
